


Our Lives

by KoreabooKitty (Koreabookitty)



Category: GOT7
Genre: Do I know what's going on?, Emphasis on the "Mostly" part, Heartbreak, I'll be adding tags as things happen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mostly Fluff, Romance?, Some angst, We are finally getting sad, and a fair amount of pining, friendship for sure tho, slice of life?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 01:06:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10933785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koreabookitty/pseuds/KoreabooKitty
Summary: A story of Mark and Jackson as they grow up together. All the crazy happy bits and the struggling sadness too.





	1. Playground

**Author's Note:**

> First, thank you for even wanting to read this story considering how lame the description is. I don't want to spoil anything just yet.  
> I'm hoping to update this weekly since I don't have much going on this summer. (I will also be looking back at my hot mess AU to try and finish that soon too)
> 
> This is a story I'm really excited to be writing. I know what each chapter will be and have rough drafts of the first 3 and the last chapter is already written. So it definitely has an ending!! I hope you enjoy this story! Sorry this first chapter is so short, I'm hoping the other chapters will be a bit longer, but the first nine chapters are mostly set up for the monster final chapter.

Mark met Jackson in kindergarten. Jackson had been playing basketball with the other social butterflies of their class on the court with the shorter hoops designed for small children. Meanwhile, Mark had secluded himself to the empty swing set. He was digging his sneakers into the sand as he sniffled. It was the second day of kindergarten and he wasn’t used to being in a room full of strange kids without his mother for so many hours a day. He had barely spoken to anyone, including the teacher, when they did class introductions yesterday. 

Being that kids had no filter, one little girl had blatantly asked the teacher, “why is he so quiet? It’s weird”, after he refused to say anything when it was his turn to tell everyone about himself. The teacher replied something along the lines of ‘Mark is just shy’, but it didn’t matter. The whole class seemed to have agreed that they were not going to be playing with the weird quiet kid at recess.

Mark didn’t mind much though, he was fine with quietly minding his own business while waiting to go home and play with his baby brother and older sisters. That is until five boys from his class decided they wanted to use the swings and there were only four still open.

The boy who seemed to be leading their little pack walked up behind Mark and pushed him hard in an attempt to knock him off the swing. “Get off!” he said as he pushed Mark again, this time nearly throwing him out of the seat, “You don’t get a turn, you shouldn’t even be allowed to be around normal people. My momma says shy people are quiet because they’re bad!” 

The little boy pulled the swing back and then pushed with as much force as his small body could muster, effectively hurling Mark off the swing and onto the ground. He landed hard on his right side, both arms and legs getting a friction burn in the process of trying to brace himself for the fall. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was sore and the boys were being so mean to him. He knew this is what they wanted though. They wanted to see him cry because they hurt his feelings.

Although today seemed to be his lucky day. As Mark was trying to get up an orange basketball slowly bounced over, landing right in front of him and it was followed by a loud and excitable boy from his class.

“Hey, can you pass me that ball?” The boy called out as he ran over. He took in the sight of the five boys surrounding Mark, who was still on the ground, and knew this wasn’t right. “Hey, what are you guys doing?” He said as he pushed his way to Mark. 

He leaned down to Mark and helped him up, dusting the sand off of his clothes. Mark’s bullies lost interest now that someone had come to help and ran to the slides. He didn’t mind that Mark had grabbed onto him the minute he was standing and hid his face in his shirt.

“My name is Jackson, what’s yours?” He asked as Mark cried. Jackson heard a little murmur come from the boy that had his arms thrown around him, clutching onto his shirt tightly. “It’s okay, they are just mean, don’t worry about them,” Jackson added, trying to make Mark feel better. He started walking them towards a picnic table nearby so Mark wouldn't have to stand.

“My name is Mark” he told Jackson as they sat down. He spoke softly as he roughly rubbed at his eyes, trying to make the tears go away. Jackson smiled brightly, proud that he’d managed to get a response out of Mark. He pulled a crumpled tissue out of the pocket of his denim shorts and handed it to Mark.

“Here!” Jackson said brightly, “Mommy told me to always keep a Kleenex in case I needed to blow my nose, but you can have it!”

Mark nodded and smiled softly in reply as he cleaned himself up. “Thank you, Jackson,” He said as he looked at his arms and right leg. His left arm was a little raw, but both limbs on his right side were bleeding. He tried to wipe up some of the blood with the tissue, but it stung and he started crying again.

“Oh no, Mark! Come here, I’ll help you over to the nurse.” Jackson said, hurrying to his feet to help Mark across the playground. Once they were just outside the nurse’s office Jackson stopped Mark, who had mostly calmed down, on the way there, only a few tears still managed to slip out, and said, “don’t worry about those meanie heads. I won’t ever let anything hurt you again Markie, I protect my friends because Papa said that’s what good men do!” Jackson said. He took a stance like a superhero to make himself look stronger. He heard Mark let out a little giggle.

That’s how their story begins…


	2. Marker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson is 7 (about to be 8)  
> Mark is 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I got this chapter done faster than I expected. The next update will be soon as well, what I've decided to do (as I said on twitter earlier) is post a chapter when the one after it is done. So chapter 2 is being posted because I have already finished chapter 3 and chapter 3 will be posted when Chapter 4 has been written, etc..
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter, please comment and let me know what you thought about it!

It’s been two years since Mark and Jackson met that day on the playground. The two of them had grown closer, going over to each other’s houses after school and usually refusing to go home before dinner time. Not that either of their parents minded. Jackson brought out a more social side of Mark that his parents had only seen when their son played with his siblings. And Mark brought out a calmer side of Jackson, he reigned him in when he got too overzealous. Their parents got along as well, being able to speak comfortably in Mandarin is something they didn’t get to do often while living in the US.

Now that the Jackson and Mark were seven and eight, respectively, they started having sleepovers at each other’s houses. It was an exciting change for Mark and Jackson since it meant being able to stay together and play all night. Jackson’s parents had an enforced bedtime for the boys, but not matter what they tried they would always wake up at some odd hour to hear the hushed giggles of the two boys through the walls.

Mark’s family had tried putting an inflatable mattress on the floor of Mark’s room for Jackson to sleep on for their first official sleepover. That had proven to be a wasted effort because as soon as Dorine had tucked the boys in and turned off the light Jackson squirmed out from under his covers and made his way to Mark’s bed to cuddle up to him. It was so heartwarmingly adorable that Mark’s mother just had to take a picture to show Jackson’s mother, Sophia, when she came to get Jackson the next afternoon. 

Tonight, Mark was going to be staying over at the Wang’s house. Tomorrow was Jackson’s eighth birthday and he was so excited to give Jackson his present. He was sure Jackson was going to love it more than any other gifts he’d gotten. Mark had made Jackson a friendship bracelet. It was his sister Tammy’s newest hobby and when he saw how much her friends enjoyed it he wanted to make one for Jackson.

He’d needed a little help with the spelling, “Mark & Jackson friends 4ever” but he’d proudly done most of the work himself. He’d even made more than one so they could have matching friendship bracelets. Mark had been sure his present was going to be the best, that is until he walked in to Jackson’s house and a little Pomeranian puppy came running at him followed by a very excited looking Jackson.

“Markie!!” Jackson exclaimed as he ran up and hugged Mark before pulling the puppy into his arms. “Look at what Mommy and Daddy got me for my birthday! Isn’t he adorable?” Mark was too shocked to say anything. Of course, the puppy was cute. It was so little and fluffy, resembling a tri-tone brown fluffball more than a living animal. 

But Mark couldn’t bring himself to match Jackson’s enthusiasm, there was no way his silly bracelets were as exciting as a puppy. “Yeah, super cute,” Mark managed to force out before walking past Jackson to go upstairs and put his overnight bag down in Jackson’s room.

Jackson paid no mind to Mark’s obvious lack of enthusiasm and continued rambling on and on about how adorable and precious his new puppy was all evening. He even took twice to eat his dinner because he couldn’t stop praising his puppy and thanking his parents for “the most amazing gift they could give him”.

Once the table had been cleared Mark, Jackson, and the puppy all went up to Jackson’s room. Jackson was wanting to try and teach the little dog some tricks he’d seen pets on television do, but Mark just wanted the night to be over. He didn’t exactly know what he was feeling, an eight-year old couldn’t possibly fully understand jealousy, but Mark knew he didn’t like how much attention Jackson was going that puppy. It was almost like Mark wasn’t even there. Rather than stay and watch Jackson happily playing with the dog while he gloomily sat on the sidelines to be forgotten, Mark decided to just go to bed, even though it was only seven o’clock. 

As he crawled into Jackson’s bed and pulled the covers up over his head he heard Jackson stop talking and walk over to him. He felt a dip in the bed as Jackson sat down on the edge next to him. 

“Mark, are you feeling sick? I can have my mommy get you some medicine,” Jackson offered, but Mark just muttered that he was fine. “You don’t seem fine,” Jackson said as he softly stroked the Mark sized lump of blanket. Mark could hear the little dog struggling to get on to the bed with Jackson, but it’s little legs and small body were too short.

“Not now Marker, I’m making sure Mark is okay” Jackson said as he hushed his puppy. At that Mark peeked his head out from under the covers. 

“What did you just call that thing?” He asked Jackson, pulling the covers down a bit to show his eyes.

“Marker,” Jackson replied, not even noticing Mark called Marker ‘thing’ instead of ‘him’, “Mommy told me when she was little her parents got her a bunny and she named it Orange because it was her favorite color and fruit. And Daddy said I should name my puppy after something I love like Mommy did.”

Mark was confused, “You don’t even like drawing that much though Jackson, why would you name you puppy after something you draw with?”

Jackson looked at Mark as if he was ridiculous for not understanding Jackson’s perfect seven-year-old logic, “No silly! I named him after you Mark!” Jackson said, “He reminded me of you, soft and sweet and so, so cute! Just like you!”

Mark froze as he took in the words Jackson had said, he named the puppy after him because he was Jackson’s favorite. He felt silly for being worried that Jackson would forget about him just because he got a dog. 

Mark threw the covers off and grabbed Jackson in a tight hug. “I think Marker is the best puppy ever! He has a great name,” Mark whispered into Jackson’s ear.

“I’m glad you like him!” Jackson replied as Mark let go of him. He leaned over the edge of his bed to help little Marker up, “He can be our puppy if you want. We can both take care of him together! He can be like our kid!”

Mark smiled brightly and nodded, petting the puppy’s soft fur. Mark suddenly got up and went to his bag and pulled out the little wrapped box Jackson’s present was in. “I know it’s a little early,” Mark said, shyly walking back to Jackson, handing it to him, “but I want you to open it now.”

Jackson eagerly grabbed the box and tore through the wrapping paper to see the two friendship bracelets inside. Mark grabbed one and put it on before taking Jackson’s hand and putting the other on his writs for him. “They match, so everyone will know we are best friends!” 

Jackson smiled enthusiastically, “These are the best ever Markie!”


	3. Fencing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson is 8
> 
> Mark is 8, about to be 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody, I'm sorry this took a little longer to get out than I expected. This last week/weekend has been a bit busy for me, but I couldn't keep you all waiting any longer!! This chapter has a bit of foreshadowing that will be important in about 2 chapters

Mark was sitting in the front row of bleachers; Jackson had gone into fencing this year, like his father always wanted, and today was his first competition. He knew Jackson was incredibly nervous, he spent the entire night practicing his lunges and parries on Mark who didn’t know what he was supposed to do to guard against it.

Mark had also overheard Jackson’s father, Ruiji, telling Jackson how important this match was today. Ruiji was normally a very kind man, whenever Mark came over he always greeted him with a smile and when he came home from work he always had an ice cream for both boys. Knowing that made what Mark heard this morning even more odd and seemingly out of character.

While he was in the bathroom getting ready to leave with the Wang family he heard Ruiji walk into Jackson’s room and remind his son of a few key moves he needed to work on during arm up before the matches would begin. Then he told Jackson, “You need to win today, if spending all that time playing with Mark has held you back you won’t be able to go over to his house for a week.”

He heard Jackson’s shocked protest, “But Mark’s birthday is next week! I have to go!”

“Well then you better win today,” his father replied before walking out of the room. When he had heard Jackson’s father walk down the hall and he knew the coast was clear, Mark went back to Jackson’s room.

“You ready Jacks?” He asked as he sat down beside Jackson, who still looked a bit hurt as he fiddled with the best friend bracelet Mark had given him a few months ago for his birthday. He hadn’t taken it off since Mark put it on him. “Don’t be nervous, I believe in you! You’re gonna do great today.”

It seemed to cheer Jackson up in that moment, but now that he had finished warming up and his match was about to start Mark could see the nervousness in the way Jackson stood. Even Mark, who was only on the cusp of turning nine couldn’t understand how anyone could put so much pressure on an eight-year-old. Jackson was just a kid, all of his competition today were just kids. There was no reason for this to be taken so seriously Mark thought. 

He stood up and yelled to Jackson in Mandarin, telling him “You can do this!”. The other families around them looked at Mark in confusion, but Sophia simply smiled softly at how sweet Mark was while she fixed his hair. Jackson looked over and waved to him. Mark knew Jackson was smiling, even though the mask was covering his face already.

Jackson was clearly one of the best fencers competing today. He easily won match after match, advancing on to the quarter-finals and then to the semi-finals. He was moving on to the last match, if he won this, he’d win gold. There was a small intermission before the start of this last set of matches and Jackson came over to see his family after talking to one of his coaches. 

Sophia told her son how proud they were of him and that she knew he had it in him. His father did the same until Sophia left to use the restroom before the break was over. “Jackson,” Ruiji started, “Remember what we discussed earlier, you have to win this.” Jackson visibly deflated. He had been doing well, not even thinking about how important this was to his father or what would happen if he didn’t win. 

Mark cleared his throat from where he was sitting behind Jackson’s father, reminding them he was still there. Ruiji sat back down, giving Mark a chance to stand up and talk to Jackson. Jackson took one look at Mark and turned around, heading back to the bench to wait for his match. He couldn’t look at Mark without thinking about how much pressure he had to win. Jackson knew Mark would be sad if he didn’t come to his birthday party next week. He tried to clear his head, but the thoughts wouldn’t quiet down. Jackson felt a hand on his shoulder and realized Mark had followed him to the bench. 

“Hey,” Mark said, crouching down in front of Jackson, “You’re doing amazing out there.” Jackson looked away, still not wanting to meet Mark’s gaze. “Jacks, don’t worry about anything just go out there and fence. You’re really good, you’ve gotten this far and that’s amazing.”

“You don’t get it,” Jackson said without looking up.

Mark grabbed Jackson’s small hands in his own, “I heard what your dad said this morning, don’t worry. If you can’t come for my birthday, I’ll just celebrate it later.” The referee stepped up to the microphone and announced that the final match was about to begin. “Go out there and have fun. Don’t worry about winning, just do your best.”

Jackson smiled brightly and nodded, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “I can do that, anything for you Markiepooh,” Jackson said, pulling Mark into a tight hug, so tight Mark had to pat Jackson’s back to tell him he couldn’t breathe. Mark then returned to his seat and waited in anticipation for the match to begin.

This match was not as easy as the others had been. Jackson knew this kid was good. He wondered if this kid’s dad was putting pressure on him to win too. After him competitor got another touch on him Jackson took off his mask to ruffle his hair and wiping the sweat from his forehead. If Jackson didn’t turn this match around and the other boy scored one more point Jackson would lose. 

He looked to see his father with a frown on his face, clearly not happy with how Jackson was fairing this match. He saw his mother smile as him while she fanned herself with the program booklet given out when they entered. But the most important thing Jackson saw was Mark sitting there, looking right back at him, giving him a thumbs-up before cheering for him in Mandarin again. Jackson nodded and winked to Mark before putting his mask back on and scoring the next four touches, evening their points. Whoever scored the next touch would win the match. 

As the judge signaled the start the final match Jackson let the other boy lunge towards him before quickly striking, his sabre hit the lamé and Jackson scored the touch, winning the competition. Jackson threw his mask off and let out a scream of excitement before tossing down the helmet and sabre to run and tackle Mark in a hug.

Jackson couldn’t keep still so he bounced up and down with Mark in his arms. The two boys laughed while Sophia took a few pictures of them with bright, happy smiles on. Ruiji had walked over to shake the hand of the judge and the coach of the other boy, telling them they did a great job. Jackson was called over to accept his gold medal and more pictures were taken of him. 

When they finally left the fencing hall, Mark and the Wang’s met up with Mark’s family at a fancy restaurant to have a celebratory dinner. Jackson excitedly gave Mark’s parent’s a play by play of the final match. Mark kept showering him with compliments, telling him how well he did and how proud he was of Jackson until it was deemed too late and the restaurant was starting to empty. The families said their goodbyes and Jackson thanked Mark for cheering him on today with one last hug as they headed to the cars. 

Just before both families pulled out of the parking lot, Jackson jumped out the car and ran to the Tuan’s car and tapped on the window Mark sat next to, motioning for him to lower it. Jackson took the medal from around his neck and put it on Mark saying, “I know it’s a little early for a birthday present, but you gave me my present early last time too! I couldn’t have won without you. I want you to keep this medal.” Mark looked at Jackson in shock, he wasn’t even able to say anything in protest or thank him before Jackson was running back to his parent’s car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Please feel free to tell me what you thought about this chapter! I'm very excited about chapter 4 because I'll be introducing a few more members into the story!!


	4. Camp Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than I expected, but here is chapter four! I hope you all enjoy it~

It was a sunny afternoon in May. Mark and Jackson had just finished fifth grade, in august they would be starting Middle School. They were very excited, but wanted to spend the summer doing adventurous things to be able to tell everyone about on the first day of class.

At first, they had tried to beg their parents to go on amazing vacations, maybe a cruise, but the four adults all had to veto it. They had jobs and responsibilities to take care of and while it had sounded like a wonderful idea, they could not manage to synchronize their schedules in a way that would allow them to take even a week off all at the same time. Jackson had helpfully suggested that they could just send Mark and him by themselves, which caused a chorus of laughter from Dorine and Sophia.

“What about sending us to a Summer Camp?” Mark asked. Dorine and Raymond thought that was a lovely idea. It would get the kids out of their hair so they could do something they would enjoy and the boys would be able to do fun things for a few weeks of their summer. Sophia was also in favor of the idea, she could see how Jackson’s eyes lit up at the mention of a summer camp. Ruiji, however, had qualms with sending Jackson away. If Jackson was at a summer camp he wouldn’t be able to practice fencing, then he would fall behind and wouldn’t win the next competition. 

Sophia placed a hand over her husband’s and squeezed it, indicating they would be discussing this later and he wouldn’t be winning the argument. The boys spent the night at the Tuan’s house and the next morning when Jackson’s parents came to pick him up, Ruiji begrudgingly announced that Summer Camp sounded like a wonderful idea.

This is how Sophia and Dorine found themselves sitting in the school parking lot with a handful of other parents waiting for the bus to send their kids off to camp. Mark and Jackson were bouncing with excitement a few feet away while they discussed what spa they should have a girl’s day at next week. As the bus pulled up the other kids all got into line, but Mark and Jackson quickly ran back to their moms and gave each of them a hug before getting into the back of the line.

Once Jackson and Mark had found seats on the bus, Jackson in the window seat while Mark took the aisle, they put their backpacks on the ground and got comfortable. They knew the ride would be about two hours to get to the campsite, but luckily they were the last pick up so they didn’t have to make any stops on the way. They had been talking about camp for the last week, excitedly discussing what they were most excited for. Jackson was looking forward to being around an actual campfire, roasting marshmallows and cooking hot dogs, and any team games they might play. Mark however, was very excited that the camp was on a lake. They would be able to go swimming and learn how to canoe. 

A camp advisor stood up at the front of the bus and got everyone’s attention as he greeted them, “Hello our Happy Campers! Are you all excited to be heading to Camp Phoenix?” He had received a varying degree of responses from the bus full of kids ranging from sounding bored to overly hyped, Mark and Jackson were part of the latter. In an attempt to make the drive to camp more interesting, the camp advisor asked everyone to go around and introduce themselves, share what their hobbies were, and what they were excited to do at Camp Phoenix.

After everyone had introduced themselves, even though no one was really paying attention, the camp counselor seemed to give up and sat down, allowing everyone to relax and chat amongst themselves. Mark and Jackson didn’t really talk though. Jackson could see Mark was tired since they hadn’t slept the night before so rather than trying to keep him awake Jackson simply put an arm around Mark’s shoulder and pulled him in closer so Mark could rest his head on his shoulder, giving him a comfortable place to sleep. Mark didn’t say anything, but still closed his eyes and snuggled closer.

This was how Mark and Jackson had always been. They could read each other like an open book and knew what the other needed without having to vocalize their needs. So when the boy from the seat behind them leaned forward and said “Ewww!” in Jackson’s ear he was confused and upset. Mark had already fallen asleep so Jackson couldn’t move much if he didn’t want to wake the older boy up.

“What?” Jackson turned his head to ask but the other boy had already leaned back and was talking to his friends. Jackson relaxed in his own seat again and sifted through his thoughts. Even though he knew he was young and still had a lot to learn about the world, he could never understand why people were so ready to judge. A few months ago on the playground some new kid came over and started picking on Mark, saying that he was gay and that it was a sin. At the time, Jackson hadn’t been sure what that all meant, but evidently Mark did because he had tears in his eyes, but started yelling at the other boy asking why that would be wrong and that he should learn to mind his own business. Jackson had pushed the other boy away from them and told him to get lost, before calming Mark down. Later that night when he had gone home, Jackson told his mother what happened and asked what it all meant. She explained what gay was and that he shouldn’t worry about what other people think. He could be himself and she would always love him no matter what. 

Jackson was still lost in thought when Mark poked his side and said, “Hey Gaga, we’re here.” The older boy grabbed both their bags and headed to get off the bus, “you coming or not?” he yelled over his shoulder and Jackson hurried to catch up with Mark, grabbing his bag back. They ran over to where all the other campers were grouped around the Jr. camp counselors and the rest of Camp Phoenix’s staff. They all introduced themselves to the campers before they started announcing what cabin everyone would be staying in. Luckily Mark and Jackson ended up together, unluckily one of the other two boys staying in their cabin was the kid who sat behind them on the bus and said “Ewww”. Jackson groaned internally, but decided not to make a huge deal out of it since Mark didn’t know what had happened anyway and hopefully never would.

As the four boys headed towards their cabin to put their stuff away an older boy jogged up next to them. “Hi kids, my name is Jaebum and I’ll be your Jr. Councilor for the next few weeks,” he said with an awkward smile, “I’ll be staying in Cabin 7 with you guys so if you need anything or have any problems feel free to pull me aside I guess.” Based on his looks, Jaebum had seemed really cool, but as soon as he spoke it was clear he was kind of a dork. Jackson also figured that if he was actually popular he would have better summer plans than working at a kids’ camp.

After choosing who got what bed, Jackson and Mark took one set of bunk beds toward the back of the room, Mark on the top, Jackson on the bottom, while the other two boys claimed the one closer to the door. Jaebum’s bed was in the middle of the room separating the two. They learned that the younger boy from the seat behind them on the bus had a name that was way too hard to pronounce so he requested they just call him BamBam and the other boy was named Yugyeom and even though he was a few inches taller than him he was two years younger than Mark and Jackson.

Jaebum announced that since it was just the first day they arrived and it was already getting late they would just be going to the mess hall for dinner and then off to bed so that they could get an early start on camp activities tomorrow morning. The five of them ate quietly, occasionally Jaebum asked them questions to get to know them better and hopefully allow his four campers to become friends. A few hours later they all headed off to bed. 

Mark had gotten about an hour of sleep on the bus ride to Camp Phoenix so he was not very tired, he simply settled into the upper bunk and pulled out the Rubik’s Cube he’d brought with him. He was quite good at solving them and really enjoyed the complex puzzle. However, after solving it four times he realized he didn’t hear Jackson’s soft snoring so he leaned over the edge to check on the younger boy in the bunk below his. 

“Jackson?” Mark whispered, unable to actually see him in the shadows of the cabin. He heard a slight sniffle before hearing Jackson reply with a weak mumble, “Jacks, are you okay? Come up here.”

Jackson pushed his covers off and climbed up the ladder to Mark’s bunk. “Hey,” Jackson said, trying to sound casual, but from this close Mark could see the tears in Jackson’s eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked.

“Nothing,” Jackson replied, but he knew Mark wasn’t going to accept that as an answer, “Just missing home a little bit.” In all reality, it wasn’t a total lie. He did miss home a bit, the food at dinner was pretty bland, not nearly as good at his or Mark’s mom’s cooking, but he was more concerned over being in the same cabin as BamBam. He wasn’t sure the four of them would be able to get along well enough to win any of the teamwork games. Over dinner neither BamBam or Yugyeom seemed to want to talk much and Jackson had hoped it was just fatigue preventing conversation rather than BamBam just wanting nothing to Mark and Jackson because of what happened on the bus.

Mark hummed as he lied down more comfortably before scooting over the one side of the mattress and patting the space beside him. “Lie down,” Mark instructed, “Sleep here tonight.” Jackson thought about refusing the offer, thinking that it could make the situation worse if BamBam woke up before them, but he just remembered what his mother said. It didn’t matter what others thought, so he lied down close to Mark and quickly fell asleep.

Mark and Jackson had woken up before anyone else in the cabin, Jaebum included. They got dressed in the camp shirt they had been sent a few days before coming and waited for the others to wake up so they could head to breakfast. 

The entire first week went by in similar fashion. During the day, they did activities that allowed them to get to know each other: relay races, team obstacle courses, and trust exercises. Jackson found that BamBam was actually a really fun person, once they had gotten to know each other a bit they were both really similar in that they were both on the loud side and liked to make other people laugh. At the same time, Mark got to know Yugyeom well and took care of him like he was a little brother. Jaebum was relieved to see his campers getting along so well, last year he hadn’t been as lucky and his campers got along like water and oil. The four of them really liked messing with him though, they would play pranks on him or be a little bratty. It was entirely manageable, but still got on his nerves occasionally.

The nights also continued much like their first night of camp. The second night Mark had claimed to be homesick, then the next two days Jackson had nightmares because of a spooky campfire story one of the other Jr. Counselors had told, and the night after that Mark had seen a spider by his bunk and refused to sleep there if he didn’t know it was dead. Regardless of the reason, Mark and Jackson shared a bed the entire first week at Camp Phoenix without anyone ever noticing. Or so they thought. 

Actually, Jaebum had seen them on the first night of camp. He had woken up for a late-night snack and noticed Jackson wasn’t in his bunk. He was just about to freak out over losing a kid in less than twelve hours when he noticed the two lumps on the top bunk. He peeked up to make sure he was seeing things correctly and sure enough the two ten year olds were cuddled up on the top bunk. He was a bit confused, but didn’t want to bother waking them up to find out what had happened. Jaebum was just relieved that no one was missing and he made a mental note to pull Mark and Jackson aside and ask them about it in the morning, but he had forgotten. After the second and third nights seeing that they had chosen to sleep in the same bed together again and seeing how they interacted during the day Jaebum knew they had a deep bond. Rather than questioning it he simply decided to enjoy how perfectly the two kids got along.

The second week was off to a rocky start though. It was five in the morning and BamBam woke up, realizing he needed to use the bathroom. On his way back e saw Mark and Jackson together on the bottom bunk, cuddled up like they had been all last week. “EWWWW!” BamBam exclaimed loudly and ran back up to his top bunk across the room. His loud voice and the noise made as he scrambled back to bed woke up the rest of the cabin. Jackson popped up and had wide eyes, realizing his biggest fear had come true. Though they seemed to be getting along great BamBam still was going to judge them the way he did on the bus. 

Jaebum was still half asleep, but knew he needed to figure out what was going on, “Bam, what’s wrong?”

“They are sleeping together like a mom and dad, it’s gross!” BamBam replied.

Mark was still too out of it from being woken up so suddenly so he stayed silent, refusing to look up and meet anyone’s eyes. Jackson however went on the defensive and yelled back, “Yeah? Well you’re just mad no one likes you at all!” 

“Shut up! You two are just weird and doing weird stuff!” BamBam shouted. Jackson opened his mouth to reply, but Mark had placed a hand over his to stop him. 

“Okay, okay! No need to yell guys, we don’t want to wake the rest of the camp,” Jaebum said in an attempt to defuse the situation, “BamBam, Yugyeom how about we talk outside for a moment. Then I’ll come back and have a word with you two,” Jaebum added, looking at Mark and Jackson with sympathetic eyes.

Yugyeom groaned and complained that he hadn’t done anything and just wanted to sleep, but got up none the less and followed Jaebum out the door. “BamBam,” Jaebum said as soon as the cabin door shut, “tell me what happened.”

BamBam explained how he woke up and saw them in the same bed and even how they had been doing the same thing on the bus to camp and it was weird. “They are like two years older than me and big kids don’t share beds like that!” BamBam exclaimed.

Jaebum nodded for a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke, “But remember how Mark and Jackson said they had been friends since they were in kindergarten?” Both boys nodded. “They’ve probably been doing the same stuff since they were little. You even said that they could understand each other without talking, that is part of the reason why they can do that.”

BamBam seemed to consider this for a moment, “So it’s just normal for them? It’s still kinda weird, but I guess it’s part of how they communicate through body language.” Jaebum high fived BamBam for understanding so quickly before turning to go talk to Mark and Jackson inside the cabin.

Jaebum walked in and heard Jackson sniffling. Mark was petting his hair and speaking softly to him so no one, but Jackson could hear. “I talked to BamBam,” Jaebum said as he walked closer and announced his presence, “He understands a little more now, everything is okay.”

Mark nodded and quietly thanked Jaebum for being understanding while Jackson wiped his tears and pounced on Jaebum, pulling him into a big hug. “Thank you Jaebummie! You’re the best!” Jackson announced before calling out to BamBam and Yugyeom, telling them they could come back in and sleep. After that night, everything was all right in Cabin 7.

That second week was everything Mark and Jackson hoped camp would be. There was a swim race and they learned how to kayak and canoe. Two nights in a row they told ghost stories around that campfire and toasted marshmallows for smores. The director of Camp Phoenix even announced that next week was their last week and they would be doing the Phoenix Firebird obstacle course. It was a long-time camp tradition in which all the cabins would compete and the winners would all get trophies to take home. The promise of a trophy made Jackson determined to win, his dad loved when he brought home trophies. Whether it was for fencing or a spelling bee his dad loved telling people how amazing his son was while showing off the shiny metal trinkets.

Cabin 7 had spent the next few days preparing for the obstacle course, perfecting their baton passing and they teamwork skills. It had been decided that BamBam and Yugyeom would do the first half of the course and Mark and Jackson would do the second. On the day of the race, things had gone well for BamBam and Yugyeom, they were able to secure Mark and Jackson a steady lead. It seemed that they were sure to win until Mark and Jackson were climbing down the other side of the rock wall. Mark’s foot slipped off one of the hand holds. Jackson had tried to pick up the pace and help him, but in moving too fast he sharply twisted his ankle trying to scale the wall. Jaebum and another Jr. Counselor hurried over to help Jackson out of the harness and get him over to the nurse’s cabin.

While the other counselor carried Jackson on his back to get his leg checked out Mark got out of his harness and tried to follow along, but was told that he needed to stay out there and watch the rest of the race. He walked back to where BamBam, Yugyeom, and Jaebum here with tears in his eyes. Jaebum silently put a hand on Mark’s shoulder. This small gesture only made Mark actually start crying. He stuttered out a mess of words, saying that it was all his fault Jackson was hurt and he could have a broken ankle for all they knew.

Jaebum leans down and tells Mark, “Jackson is gonna be fine, he probably just twisted it at an odd angle and sprained it. If he isn’t back during crafts hour I’ll take you to the nurse’s cabin and make them let you in to see him, okay?” Mark nodded and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

All during crafts Mark stayed by Jaebum’s side like they were glued together. Everyone was making picture frames out of popsicle sticks, but Mark’s mind was preoccupied with worrying about Jackson. He simply made a basic frame using just red popsicle sticks before sitting and hoping Jackson would walk into the mess hall like nothing was wrong. Jaebum decided to try and distract Mark so he wasn’t just staring at the door. “So,” Jaebum started, “Do you know what you want to be when you grow up Mark?”

Mark looked back at him with wide eyes, “I haven’t thought too much about it, since I’m only ten… but I’ve thought about maybe teaching or being a doctor,” Mark replied thoughtfully, “What about you Jaebum, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Jaebum snickered a bit at the wording, considering that he was basically an adult already. He would be starting college next year, but the question did make him think. “Well I want to major in psychology and become a therapist to help people, but my parents want me to become a lawyer,” Jaebum replied, “I don’t really know what I’m going to decide to do.”

Mark nodded, but did not reply. Crafts hour was nearly over and the staff of Camp Phoenix started getting ready for dinner to be served. Mark looked to Jaebum with sad eyes, signaling that he wanted to go to see Jackson immediately when the side door to the mess hall was pushed open and Jackson struggled to get inside. He was on crutches and his ankle was tightly wrapped in an ace bandage.

“Jackson!” Mark said as he rushed to his side, “Are you okay? Is it broken? I’m so sorry!” The normally quiet boy kept rambling on as they headed back over to the table Jaebum, Yugyeom and BamBam were at.

“Markie I’m fine,” Jackson insisted as he sat down next to Mark, “It’s just badly sprained, I should be fine in a few days. Nothing to worry about.” Jackson looked to Jaebum then, “I also won’t be able to do any more of the physical activities these last two days for camp,” he said. Jaebum told him he was better off resting anyway, he’d heal faster that way while Mark said that he would sit out too and keep Jackson company. Jackson tried to convince Mark to participate, there was no reason he should sit out, but there was no talking Mark out of it when he had made up his mind about something like this.

\------------------------------------------------

On the last day of camp each cabin takes their pictures together to be put in the frames they had made. The four boys gathered around Jaebum with bright smiles on their faces. BamBam had jumped onto his back while Yugyeom hung onto his arm. Mark and Jackson sat on the cabin steps in front of them. All five of them smiled brightly as the picture was taken. They were excited to see how it turned out when they went to collect the prints a little later before boarding the bus back home. BamBam and Yugyeom exchanged addresses and home phone numbers with Mark and Jackson, deciding to write to each other and maybe find a time to meet at some point in the near future. 

The camp counselors walked all the campers over to the buses and handed them their group pictures in their frames. Jaebum handed Jackson one in a frame he had made himself since Jackson had been in the nurse’s cabin when everyone made them. Jackson smiled brightly and reached up a bit to hug Jaebum telling him, “Mark and I will always remember you Bummie!”

As Jaebum handed Mark his red frame and photo Mark hugged Jaebum as well before adding, “Thank you for everything. And good luck with college, you should do what makes you happy.” Jaebum smiled and nodded before hugging Mark again and stepping aside so the other Jr. counselors could bid their kids goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I'm planning to have the next chapter out sometime next week. I'm very excited for Chapter five as it will be one of 3 pivotal moments in their lives in this story!


	5. Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson is 13
> 
> Mark is 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I have no excuse for having taken so long to update. I just had no motivation to write and couldn't even force myself to get into the right head space for a long time. But seeing my friend Seitsemannen, the author of Playhouse, comeback after a long hiatus inspired me to as well. (Though obviously this stppry is nothing compared to Playhouse!) 
> 
> I transferring universities and then I applied to study abroad. I'm still in South Korea for about another 2 weeks, I've had a ton of amazing experiences in terms or travel and in terms of GOT7. I got to see them at the JYP building, I went to their anniversary fanmeeting, I got to go to music show pre-recording, I got into a fanmeeting, a special event where I got a solo Polaroid with Youngjae, went to all three nights of the Seoul concert where Mark tossed me a ball signed by Jaebeom and took my phone and I got to do a solo Polaroid with the whole group. Needless to say it has been a wild, amazing time! 
> 
> Also, I'll be going to all the North American tour stops, except Toronto, so if you're going to LA, Houston, NYC, or Mexico City and see me stop by and say hi!

Mark and Jackson were in math class when the teacher got a call. The office only ever called a classroom when someone was in trouble or needed to be sent home. Everyone in the class silently hoped to be getting out of class early because pre-calc was dreadfully boring. It was 7th period, last class of the day, but leaving 30 minutes early was still a blessing.

After a short conversation with the receptionist their teacher turned around and told Jackson to pack his things and go to the office quickly. Jackson and Mark were both confused, but Jackson did as he was told. Before he had even managed to get his backpack on the phone rang again. Someone was there to pick Mark up too.

They ended up walking to the office together. “So… I was thinking about asking Suzy to the winter formal,” Jackson said while they walked.

“Oh,” Mark replied quietly. This wasn’t the first time Jackson had talked about girls he liked with Mark. Jackson was 13 and Mark had just turned 14 a couple months ago. They were hormonal teenagers, so it only made sense. Jackson had a crush on her for like a week now. “Isn’t she dating that 9th grader?” Mark asked, trying to sound casual.

Jackson was about to reply when Mark opened the door to the front office and they saw both of Mark’s parents. Dorine was sitting in a chair crying, nearly hysterically, while Raymond was asking the receptionist, asking for more tissues. “Mom, are you okay? What happened?” Mark asked as he and Jackson hurried to her side.

Mark fretted over his mother, who couldn’t manage to speak coherently. Jackson suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his chest. Something wasn’t right, he could just feel in his heart that something awful had happened and when Dorine looked Jackson in the eyes and just pulled him into a tight hug he knew he was right. Mark didn’t know what to do or what was happening, he looked to his dad for an explanation, but he just got a look of immense sadness in response.

“Let’s get into the car and we’ll explain on the way, yeah?” Raymond suggested. Jackson had tears in his eyes even though he had no idea what was going on still. Mark wrapped an arm around him while Raymond helped Dorine up and they all headed to the parking lot. Once they had left the school and were on a major street Raymond looked to Dorine who nodded and composed herself enough to speak, albeit through irregular breaths.

“There was an accident,” She began. Jackson paled instantly, and Mark clutched his hand. “Your mom was on her way to the store to pick up something and a truck ran a red light…” Jackson world was crumbling around him as Mark’s mom continued to explain. “She’s in critical condition. They’re going to get her into surgery once they’ve stabilized her, they’re hopeful about her condition. The paramedics had called your father and us. Ruiji had come to pick you up, but when we arrived we told him we would bring you both and he could just head to the hospital.”

Mark looked at Jackson and saw the thirteen-year-old fall apart. His heart broke, Sophia was like a second mother to him too, but he knew she meant everything to Jackson. He loved his mom so much, some people used to pick on him and call him a mama’s-boy and Jackson would tell them he was sorry they didn’t love their mom’s enough. It had gotten him into a few fights, but Jackson would never let anyone get away with trying to talk about his mother like that. Mark let go of Jackson’s had to undo his seatbelt. He slid over on the bench of the car’s backseat and into Jackson’s personal space. He wrapped his arms around Jackson and cradled his head daring to whisper into Jackson hair a soft “Jacks…” He didn’t know what to say, but it didn’t matter. Jackson started sobbing violently, he turned into Mark’s embrace and cried harder than he ever had in his life, praying that his mother would recover.

When they finally arrived at the hospital Jackson wanted to bolt out of the car and run to where ever his mom was, but when he got out of the car he found his legs were shaking and he could barely stand. Mark, noticed, because Mark notices everything, and came to his side and helped him walk in to the emergency room while his parents asked Sophia’s condition and what room she was in.

The four of them were told she was in surgery already so they headed to the third floor to wait with Jackson’s dad for more news. They found Ruiji with his head down, his hands balled up into fists pulling at his hair. Dorine took a seat one away from him while Raymond sat on his other side and patted him on the back. Mark walked Jackson over to the seats directly across from their parents. 

Mark watched as Jackson whispered, “Dad…” and Ruiji barely looked up. A quick glance was all he gave his own son in this situation. He knew Jackson and his Dad had a strained relationship because of the pressure he put on Jackson’s fencing, but he was shocked to see such coldness even now. Mark held Jackson tighter and rubbed his back soothingly to make up for it.

After a few hours passed, a doctor came out and told them that they had done all they could for Sophia, but they were unsure if she would recover. They suggested that Jackson and Ruiji may want to prepare for the worst. Jackson’s father became as still as a marble statue at those words and Jackson threw himself into Mark’s arms once again. Jackson held him tight like his thin frame was thing only thing keeping him from falling apart.

As soon as the doctors had gotten her settled into a room Ruiji went in without sparing a glance to Jackson. “He’s just making sure she looks okay and won’t worry Jackson too much more,” Mark’s dad said softly as he came up behind Mark and Jackson, patting both of their heads. “Sophia is a strong woman.” After several minutes Ruiji walked out of the room and looked at Jackson for the first time in hours. 

“She wants to see you,” he said as he put a hand on Jackson’s shoulder and squeezed it. Mark stepped aside to let Jackson go see his mother, but Jackson grabbed onto his arm and shook his head.  
“I don’t… I don’t think I can go in there without you Markie,” Jackson stumbled over his words. Mark’s eye widened, but he nodded and let Jackson hold his hand as they walked into Sophia’s hospital room. 

Mark looked around as they walked in, there were so many machines connected to Sophia and they were making all sorts of noises. Mark had never really been in a hospital before, not like this, but just from a few seconds in the room he decided he hated hospitals.

“Boys?” Jackson’s mother struggled to call out, her voice raspy and strained. Jackson held back tears as he walked them over to his mother. “Jackson,” she said softly. She brought a hand connected to many wires up to his head and stroked his hair, “I’m sorry you have to see me like this sweetie.”

Jackson broke again and started blubbering in Mandarin to his mother, telling her he is sorry, that he loves her so much, and that he doesn’t know what to do without her, that he is scared and she needs to be strong. She smiles sadly and squishes his cheeks a little, “I don’t know what’s going to happen Gaga. I wish I could tell you when I was coming home. And I wish I could guarantee I would be there for you always, but I don’t want to lie to you. I’m scared too Jackson. But,” she tried to continue, stopping to choke down a sob to keep her voice somewhat steady, “but you will be okay. I know your father can be hard on you, but you’re so wonderful. I’ll always be watching over you and I have and always will love you with all my heart. No matter what you do in life or what happens I will always love you Jackson Wang.” 

All three of them were crying now. “I just wanted to say that, just in case…” she says softly as she presses a kiss onto the tops of both of their heads.

A nurse pops into the room to tell them that Mark’s mom wants to see Sophia for a moment before she needs to rest again. Jackson doesn’t want to leave his mother’s side, but he knows the only chance she has at healing is if she rests. He reluctantly turns to leave, still gripping Mark’s hand, but Mark isn’t moving. He turns to see his mother whispering to Mark.

Mark was surprised as well when Jackson’s mom had pulled him in close to speak privately to him. He knew he would never forget what she told him, “I know. I’ve known for longer than you have I think. I just don’t think he knows yet, but it will be our little secret for now, yeah? You’ll always be his, and he will always be yours. I feel better knowing that you two have each other. I wish I could be there for all of the firsts. I love you Mark, please… please keep my son smiling.” Mark looked her in the eyes and she smiled sadly to him. He nodded to her as he cried and walked out of the room with Jackson. 

And that was the last time they saw Sophia Wang, who passed in her sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm glad to be writing again, but I'm sorry have returned to you with this sad chapter. I wish I could say things would get more cheery again, but I don't want to lie to you dear reader...
> 
> Please leave comments on what you thought! I love reading them!! ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter, feel free to let me know what you thought of it, I'm hoping to have chapter 2 ready by tomorrow, but if it isn't out my next Tuesday, please feel free to scream at me on twitter ( @KatieKat1321)


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